Once Upon a Time
by jmsbndgrl
Summary: The Story of Snow White told with Star Wars Characters. This is a short story told in seven parts
1. Chapter 1

**Once Upon a Time**

**Summary:** The Story of Snow White told with Star Wars Characters. This is a short story told in seven parts.

**Note: **The first time I tried to post this, I got an error message and the story was messed up. This should be fixed now.

* * *

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away the planet of Naboo was blessed with a new princess. Young Queen Jobal Amidala and her consort Ruwee Naberrie were the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl. Her baby smooth skin shined with an angelic white glow, a wisp of brown curls adorned her head, and deep chocolate colored eyes heightened the child's beauty.

Both Jobal and Ruwee had been longing for a child since the tragic death of their first daughter, Sola. Both parents saw this new babe as a chance to start their family over, and find happiness. Today, they would introduce their new daughter, Padmé Naberrie Amidala to the Nubian court as the entire planet celebrated the arrival of this child.

Although she was only a child, this little girl seemed to exude a light that permeated the people around her. The baby seemed to provide a sense of peace and joy to all she met, except for one man. Nubian Senator Palpatine did not seem to care for the young girl, but arrived on planet to pay his respects to the family. He saw the birth of the young girl as an unexpected wrench in his plans, for he could foresee she could ruin all of his ambitions.

However, Palpatine forced himself to smile like the rest of the court and special guests in the throne room in Theed while they waited for the arrival of the royal family. Not only had the Nubian court come to give its blessings to this extraordinary child, but the royal family of Alderaan, the senators from Chandrila and Corellia, and a contingent of Jedi came to celebrate the arrival of this new life as well.

A murmur of voices was heard throughout the room, until a series of trumpets sounded from the back of the room. The room instantaneously fell silent as the Queen, carrying her new daughter, entered the throne room with her husband. The queen was dressed in a red and gold ornate gown, with the traditional royal Nubian face paint. Her face was painted white while her top lip had been painted a deep red, while only the center of her bottom lip was painted, and two red circles were painted on either cheek. The baby in her arms was swaddled in a thick white blanket and her consort was dressed in a traditional blue Nubian court uniform trimmed in gold.

All eyes followed the progress of the royal family as they approached their thrones on the opposite side of the room. However, before they sat down, the Queen turned to the assembled guests and spoke, "Welcome dear friends. I would like to thank you for coming to share in our happiness, but without further ado, I would like to introduce you to our daughter." She then held up the sleeping baby in her arms as she continued to speak, "Princess Padmé Naberrie Amidala of Naboo."

Applause sounded throughout the throne room. This may have disturbed the young princesses' slumber, but she merely cooed as she continued to sleep. The queen placed her young daughter into a basinet next to her throne and sat down so that she could receive her guests.

* * *

"You have a beautiful daughter, your highness."

"Thank you Breha." Jobal addressed the queen from Alderaan. "And thank you for the beautiful gift. I am sure Padmé will treasure that blanket."

Then the Queen of Alderaan bowed to the Queen of Naboo and stole one last glance and smiled at the young princess. Padmé was now awake and cooing softly at the guests who came by to smile and gaze at her. Several senators from various parts of the galaxy and Nubian court members visited the young princess before three Jedi Knights approached her mother.

"Beautiful she is, your young one. Your happiness, brings warm feelings to my heart, your highness." A small green Jedi bowed. Behind him an older gentleman and his young padawan bowed as well.

"Thank you master Yoda," replied the queen with a smile as she bowed her head in deference to the Jedi Master.

"Yes your highness, she is lovely. You must be very proud." Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn said as Master Yoda approached Padmé's basinet.

"We are, thank you Master Jinn."

With a bow, both Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi stepped over to Padmé's basinet, joining Master Yoda who had pulled up a chair so that he could reach a finger into the basinet. Master Yoda chuckled softly as he traced a finger across Padmé's face, while she giggled and tried to catch it in her tiny hands. "Strong, you are." Yoda whispered as all the Jedi left to let Senator Palpatine have a chance to view the child.

Senator Palpatine had just congratulated the royal family and was now walking towards the basinet that held the bane of his existence. The pureness of this child irritated the darkness that dwelled deep inside him, but he put on a fake smile as he performed his courtly duty.

Padmé had gurgled and cooed contently the entire time guests filed by her basinet. However, as Senator Palpatine strolled towards her and held out one of his hands, she began to cry hysterically. Queen Amidala quickly moved from her throne and picked up the distressed princess, trying to soothe the young girl. She was quickly joined by her husband who whispered kind words to his daughter, "What is the matter, angel?"

Padmé continued to cry, and Palpatine tried to hide his amused smirk. When the young princess did not calm down, Queen Amidala addressed the remainder of her guests, "I am sorry my dear friends, but it seems that my little one has had enough for the day. I would like to thank you all again for coming, but I must now leave you to tend to my daughter."

Everyone in the room smiled in understanding, except for Palpatine who forced himself to smile. They watched the Queen leave with the wailing princess in her arms, leaving Ruwee to tend to the rest of their guests.

Palpatine longed to sneer as he watched the Queen retreat, for that child was going to cause him problems. Her light threatened his darkness, as it seemed to unite the people around her. He would need to act quickly if he was to secure his power.


	2. Chapter 2

A year after Padmé's introduction to the Nubian court, tragedy befell the royal family when her father died mysteriously. Grief stricken, Queen Amidala resigned her position in order to focus on raising her infant daughter. However, Jobal and Padmé were not alone for long. Six months after the death of Ruwee, Jobal married Chancellor Palpatine, who had recently been elected to head the Galactic Republic as Chancellor.

For three years, the family was happy. They moved away from Naboo to Coruscant where they lived in a lavish apartment, but Jobal took Padmé to visit Naboo and her father's gravesite often. Unfortunately, the visits abruptly ended when Padmé's mother grew terribly ill and died suddenly. This left the young girl in the care of her stepfather.

Over the years, the Chancellor ignored his stepdaughter. She was not directly mistreated, but she was not shown the love she deserved either. She was left to her own devices, and often strolled the streets of Coruscant. Her favorite destination was the Jedi Temple, for she had a reoccurring dream that a tall, dark, and handsome knight would cross her path one day. However, as she grew, she brushed this thought off as silly nonsense, and resigned herself to her current fate.

As years progressed, Padmé's beauty grew. Dark curls of long brown hair framed her face as enchanting chocolate orbs captured the attention of all around her. Additionally, her slim figure moved with a grace unrivaled by any creature in the galaxy. Even Palpatine could not deny her presence because if he was talking to anyone when she walked by, heads turned in her direction. Padmé's beauty seemed to radiate from her and bring happiness to those she passed. Palpatine could not have this, because she was becoming a uniting point for his enemies as people gravitated toward her. His charming stepdaughter did not realize she was threatening his power that he so desperately clung to.

As a result, on her fourteenth birthday, Palpatine locked her away under his watchful eyes. He would have killed her, but he sensed that she could still be useful. Therefore, he gave her a job as an aide in his office. He gave her a back room that he constantly filled with paperwork for her to file so that no one would catch a glimpse of the young maiden. In addition, Palpatine banned her from stepping out in public from that day forward. Padmé had become a prisoner, sequestered in her stepfather's office by day, and his apartment by night. The young woman had no social contact, except for the brief glimpses of people coming in and out of her stepfather's office. This state of affairs continued for ten long years.

* * *

It was late one evening, and Padmé had just finished sorting through a large stack of datapads for her stepfather. She was exhausted and longed to get out of the stuffy office and return home. Normally, Padmé would have to wait another hour before leaving her office to file away her datapads, but she knew her stepfather did not have any more appointments scheduled for the day. Taking her chance that she might be able to leave early, Padmé quickly gathered her datapads and silently crept towards her door.

She pushed the door open a crack and peered outside to see if she spotted anyone. She knew that she would be in trouble if her stepfather found out that she had emerged from her office early. Seeing no one in the office, Padmé pushed her door open all the way and quickly moved across the room, her eyes focused on the filing cabinets she needed to reach before she could go home.

Padmé was almost to her destination, but she suddenly ran into something solid and she tripped and fell to the floor. Her datapads fell from her hands and scattered across the floor. She did not look back to see what she had run into, but set to work collecting her datapads. She was reaching out to collect her last datapad when another hand beat her to it.

"I'm sorry milady. I had a meeting with the Chancellor and was not watching where I was going." A young male voice said as he placed the datapad in her arms. The young man had kneeled down in front of her.

Padmé gasped in surprise and looked up into the azure eyes of this stranger. The stranger was dressed in dark Jedi robes. His clothes hid his body from view, but Padmé could tell that he had a strong, muscular, athletic build. His handsome chiseled facial features were framed by sandy blonde hair and his cerulean eyes seemed to penetrate through to her soul.

Padmé realized she was staring at the young man who was now smiling warmly at her.

She turned her gaze toward her feet and slowly stood up. The young man also stood up in front of her. "Thank you for your help sir." Padmé stated meekly as she turned back towards the filing cabinets. However, a hand on her elbow stopped her.

The young man lifted a hand to her chin and gently lifted it so that her eyes locked with his again. She had to look up because he was taller than her. "No thanks are needed milady." He then brushed away a strand of her brown hair that had fallen into her face.

Silence fell between the two of them as they stared into each other's eyes. Padmé's heart raced as the young man captivated her attention. "I am Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, may I know the name of the lovely young woman whose presence I am in." Anakin stated as he brought one of her hands to his lips and lightly kissed it.

Padmé blushed as she softly replied, "Padmé."

"Pleasure to meet you, Padmé." Anakin said with a smile.

Padmé was smiling back at him, her heart continued to beat rapidly as she lost herself in the eyes of the Jedi. She half noticed that he was leaning into her, but that halted when she jumped at the sound of a sharp voice.

"Daughter! What are you doing? File those datapads and go home. You should not be wasting the Jedi's time." Palpatine sharply ordered and then softened his tone as he spoke to Anakin who had turned toward him. "I apologize for this Anakin. She will not bother you again."

Anakin hid his annoyance as he calmly replied, "She was no bother. On the contrary, I should be apologizing. I accidentally ran into your charming daughter after I left your office."

Palpatine grew angry with this statement and worked hard to reign in his disgust, "Perhaps you are right, but she should not have been out here. She knows better." Then he turned his attention to Padmé who had finished putting away the datapads. "Go home, we will discuss this later."

Padmé turned to leave, but was stopped when a hand grabbed hers. Her heart raced at the Jedi Knight's touch as she turned back towards him. Once again he brought her hand to his mouth, and Padmé held her breath as she watched him press his lips to it. "It was a pleasure to meet you, milady." He then released her hand and bowed to her as he added, "Until we meet again." As he straightened back up, he locked his eyes with hers once more before turning towards the Chancellor and said farewell before leaving.

Padmé just stood there in a daze. It was not until her stepfather had cleared his throat that she shook herself from her reverie and glanced back at him. He glowered at her, and she thought she saw his eyes flash yellow. She could tell that he was angry and quickly retreated out of his office before an argument could ensue.


	3. Chapter 3

Padmé stared out at the Coruscant cityscape. She did not understand why her stepfather was so angry about her meeting with the Jedi. He had banned her from his office, so now she was confined to their apartment. She sighed as she leaned against the railing of the balcony to her room and turned her gaze towards the Jedi Temple, lost in thought.

* * *

Palpatine seethed in anger in his bedroom of his apartment. He had just finished berating his stepdaughter who had almost ruined everything he had worked so hard to set into motion. The seeds had been planted to turn Jedi Knight Skywalker into his agent of darkness, but Padmé's light seemed to undo all of this. She seemed to ground the young night in the light side of the Force.

Palpatine needed to be cheered up, so he called upon the Force to tell him who the most powerful being in the universe was. Unfortunately, he did not receive the answer he was suspecting as he was shown images of Padmé. Infuriated, Palpatine started pacing the floor as he tried to find a solution to this problem.

* * *

Padmé was smiling, as she recalled images of the handsome Jedi Knight she had met earlier that day. A chill had crept into the air, but she ignored it as she absentmindedly gazed at the Jedi Temple. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she did not notice a presence behind her until she heard a voice say, "Thinking of me?"

Padmé turned around quickly with a gasp. She probably would have screamed in surprise, but a pair of lips quickly melded against hers drowning out any noise. All rational thought left Padmé as Anakin pulled her closer into his kiss. In response, she wrapped her arms around his neck, happy to have him near.

Anakin pulled away from the kiss, and gazed down at her with a crooked smile, "I can see that you were."

"How did you get in here?" Padmé asked breathlessly.

"Jedi secret." Anakin replied cryptically.

"Why?" Padmé asked. She was happy to see him, but she did not understand why he was here.

Anakin chuckled lightly as he replied, "Our meeting got interrupted earlier, I came back to finish it.

"Oh." Padmé said, and turned her gaze downward out of shyness. She did not know what to say.

Anakin gently raised a hand to tilt her chin back up as he said, "Don't hide your eyes from me milady, they are beautiful."

Padmé blushed. "You should not say such things. I might start to believe that you love me."

In response, Anakin drew her to him and passionately kissed her lips. When he pulled back from her once again he softly said, "But I do."

Padmé's shocked eyes locked onto his as she replied, "But you just met me, you can't possibly love me."

"How can anyone not love an angel? I knew the moment I met you that we were meant to be together." Anakin replied with a smile that took Padmé's breath away.

"How?" She whispered.

"The Force told me. You will be the light in my life, my angel." He whispered hotly in her ear.

Padmé closed her eyes and tried to focus her thoughts as she tried to reason with him that he could not possibly love her, but she found this difficult as her heart began to race when he pulled her into another lingering kiss.

* * *

From a window high above Padmé's balcony, Palpatine watched in disgust as his future apprentice kissed his stepdaughter. That was the last straw; he had to get rid of her if he was ever going to be the most powerful being in the galaxy. His eyes flashed yellow as he turned his gaze away from the window and pressed a button to summon one of his Republic guards to his side. Soon, his stepdaughter would not be able to interfere with his plans.

* * *

Down on the balcony, Anakin pulled away from his kiss with Padmé abruptly when he felt a disturbance in the Force. He had a worried look on his face as he scanned the area for any signs of trouble.

Padmé saw the troubled look on his face and asked, "What is it?"

Anakin looked back at her and saw concern shadow her beautiful face. He was wary about what he felt, but he knew that he did not want her to worry. He gave her a reassuring smile, "Nothing, my love. I just need to leave you for a while, and I do not want to go."

Padmé wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close as she whispered, "I love you, Anakin."

Anakin smiled and ran a hand through her auburn tresses. "I know, my love. Which is what pains me now that I must leave you. I will return. Will you wait for me?" He asked as he locked his cerulean eyes on her chocolate orbs once more.

"Always." She stated simply. Then with one final kiss she watched her Jedi Knight, her love, climb over her balcony into the Coruscant night.


	4. Chapter 4

Palpatine called his stepdaughter to his room early in the morning before he left for the Senate building. "My daughter, I believe I was too hard on you yesterday. I acted rash yesterday and you did not deserve my anger." He stated with a smile.

Padmé gave a perplexed look as she continued to listen to her stepfather. "Yesterday was a mistake and you should not be punished for it. You only had an innocent encounter with a Jedi Knight." Padmé tried to stop herself from blushing at these words as her lips tingled with the memories of the previous night.

"I would like to make up for my behavior. How would you like to take a trip to visit Naboo, you have not been there recently." Padmé's eyes lit up at this, but they soon fell when she remembered that she promised Anakin that she would wait for him. Palpatine noticed the sudden changes in his stepdaughter's mood and replied, "Are you unhappy with this?"

"No, no father. It is a wonderful gift." Padmé stated as she tried to not appear ungrateful.

Palpatine smiled, he knew he had her where he wanted her, "Good. You will leave immediately; one of my guards will escort you. I expect to see you in a few days to give me a report on your vacation."

"Yes father, thank you." Padmé replied as she turned to leave his presence. She quickly walked out of his room and back to hers to ready herself for her trip. Part of her wanted to see Naboo again. She had not been there since her mother's death, but the other part of her wanted to stay here and wait for Anakin. However, she did not want to anger her stepfather by refusing his gift.

Padmé sighed as she told herself that she would not be away for long. She doubted Anakin would come back to her while she was gone anyways. With this thought she marched into her room because the sooner she left, the sooner she could return to Anakin's warm embrace.

* * *

Padmé walked through a wildflower meadow on Naboo, where she was picking flowers to put on her mother and father's graves. She hummed a soft tune as she set to her task under the watchful eyes of one of her stepfather's guards.

Padmé ran to a patch of beautiful purple flowers, her golden dress fanning out behind her. Her hair was pulled up into two buns on either side of her head to keep it out of her face, but a few stubborn curls had escaped and were swaying slightly in the breeze. Padmé smiled as she turned her back towards her stepfather's guard and began to pluck the purple flowers; her heart told her that her mother would love them.

The young guard gulped slightly as he pulled out a small blaster and approached the Chancellor's daughter. He had been given his orders and now was the opportunity to fulfill them. He raised his blaster up and pointed it at the young maiden as his shadow fell over her.

Padmé turned in the guard's direction when she noticed the shadow and gasped when she saw the blaster pointed at her. The guard's hand was shaking as his eyes locked onto Padmé's, which were full of fear. The guard started to pull the trigger on the blaster, but the beautiful innocence of the woman before him prevented him from firing. He threw the gun to the side and collapsed to his knees. Sobbing he said, "Forgive me."

"What?" Padmé asked shakily.

The guard looked up at her, tears streaming down his face, "Forgive me, he ordered me to do it."

"Who?"

"The Chancellor, he wants you dead. He told me to kill you and bring back your heart to him as proof."

"But why?"

"He is a Sith Lord, milady."

Padmé gasped and stood up quickly as she shouted, "Anakin!"

"Who milady?"

"Anakin, he is a Jedi Knight. I must stop him."

"Stop who, milady?"

"The Sith!"

The guard blanched, "No milady, you mustn't it is too dangerous. Run away, far away. I will kill a shaak and take its heart back to the Sith, it will by you some time." He gestured towards one of the large grazing animals in the meadow.

"No, I must help Anakin!" Padmé shouted as she got up and tried to run in the direction of her transport. However, she was stopped when the guard grabbed his blaster and set it for stun. Padmé crumbled to the ground as the guard stood up to check on her.

"I'm sorry milady, I cannot have you getting yourself killed. I will do what I promised, but first I must get you to safety." He then lifted the young woman in his arms and carried her to their transport. Once he had her secured, he went to collect the heart he needed to show the Sith. He then fired up the Nubian cruiser and headed for a planet far away where the young woman could hide.


	5. Chapter 5

Padmé awoke with a groan when she felt something sharp poke her in the side. She opened her eyes and blearily looked around trying to focus on her strange surroundings. Suddenly, a small furry face came into view and she jumped in surprise.

"Who are you?" She asked the strange creature.

The diminutive creature did not say anything, but gave a perplexed look at the young woman as he held out a staff in a defensive gesture. Padmé had never seen a furry creature like this before, but she seemed to remember hearing about them at school, and recalled the name of Ewok. She knew that ewoks were native to Endor, which was far away from Coruscant.

Padmé quickly looked around for a sign of a transport, but realized that she had been abandoned on this planet. She had no way of escaping and warning Anakin of the danger he was in. She did not care about her own safety at the moment; she just wanted to make sure that Anakin was all right. As the hopelessness of the situation took hold in her mind, Padmé began to weep, holding her head in her hands.

The lone Ewok, watched the young woman cry and lowered his staff as he felt the need to be compassionate towards her. He slowly crept up towards her, while six other Ewoks looked on from the cover of the trees.

* * *

"It is done, milord." The guard spoke to Palpatine as he held out a box.

"Good, good." Palpatine said with a smile as he grabbed the box. Reveling in the fact that he held Padmé's heart in his hands. He closed his eyes and called upon the Force to tell him who the most powerful being in the galaxy was. He was mortified when it still showed him images of Padmé. He probed the Force more and it showed him that the heart in his hands was that of a shaak, and that his stepdaughter was alive and well on the forest moon of Endor.

Palpatine threw the box down at the guard's feet and shouted as his eyes turned to yellow, "You dare defy me!"

"Milord, I…" The guard tried to explain, but was soon gasping for air as he felt a pressure on his neck.

"I should have never sent you!' Palpatine roared as he tightened his Force chokehold on the guard. Incoherent noises came from the guard until he suddenly slumped over and fell silent. Palpatine walked over to the body and kicked it while he said, "Now you know the true nature of the dark side. I will now have to deal with her myself!"

Palpatine quickly walked to one of his bookshelves and pulled out an old Sith manuscript, searching for a clever solution to dispose of his stepdaughter. He wanted to find a discreet method of killing her that would make it difficult to link the killing back to him.

He quickly thumbed through the pages until he found one that said, 'A Potion for Living Death.' Palpatine read through the contents quickly, seeing that when taken, the potion put the victim in a state that resembled death. Palpatine cackled with glee, and immediately set to making the potion.

Several hours later, Palpatine had a dark black liquid boiling in a pot, and he was contemplating how to deliver this deadly mixture. He decided he would disguise himself and coat Padmé's favorite desert, shurra fruit, with the potion. He was sure that he could trick her into eating one because the fruit would absorb the potion with no sign of its deadly effects.

Palpatine cackled again as he continued to read the potion instructions to ensure that he had not missed a step. As Palpatine glanced at the page, he noticed a disclaimer at the bottom. It read, 'The victim of this potion will remain in a death like state until a powerful force greater than the evil that created it counteracts its effects.'

Palpatine just scoffed at this because he knew there was no power greater than the dark side. He cackled softly as he carefully put a dozen shurra fruit into his vile concoction and let them sit while he worked out his disguise.

Palpatine stood before a mirror and slowly peeled away the mask he wore everyday. No one knew that the Chancellor of the Republic was an old hag because he kept his wrinkled features hidden from public view. He knew his stepdaughter would never recognize him in this state. Instead of a disguise, he would go as his natural self.

Once his Chancellor's mask was removed, Palpatine's sithly eyes stared into the mirror and he smiled. The mirror cracked and Palpatine cackled in response.

Turning from the shattered mirror, he threw a dark cloak over himself and quickly put the shurra fruit into a basket. Pleased with his plan, the evil Sith Lord found an old transport to take for his confrontation with Padmé.

* * *

Anakin had spent the last day and a half searching for the disturbance he had felt in the Force on Padmé's balcony. He was walking in the Jedi Temple when he felt it again. He stopped where he was and closed his eyes letting the Force guide him to a presence. He could sense a dark presence heading towards Endor. He was just getting ready to head towards his starfighter when the Force sent him an image telling him that Padmé was in danger.

Abruptly, Anakin opened his eyes and sprinted out of the Jedi Temple to his starfighter. He fired up his yellow ship and flew as fast as he could towards Padmé's balcony. When he had approached her apartment, he leapt from his cockpit and onto her balcony, drawing his lightsaber out and igniting it. "Padmé!" He called out.

When Anakin heard no answer, he entered her room and called out to her again, "Padmé!" However, there was no answer or any sign of her. He quickly closed his eyes and used the Force to locate her and was shocked to find her on the forest moon of Endor. "What in the blazes is she doing there?" He mumbled to himself.

However, he did not have time to probe this idea further. He quickly sprinted back to his starfighter and climbed inside. Flying as fast as he could, Anakin pushed his ship to its limits as he tried to reach Endor and Padmé before the dark presence he had felt earlier.


	6. Chapter 6

After Padmé had cried for a while, the seven Ewoks had guided her to their tree top dwelling. She seemed to be friendly, and they sensed that she needed some place to stay. Throughout the night she cried out, "Anakin." The ewoks did not know what this meant since they did not understand her language, but they did their best to comfort her.

Padmé cried herself to sleep as night fell on Endor and what sleep she had was uneasy. She kept dreaming of Anakin facing a heavily armored Sith Lord while her stepfather laughed in the background. In every dream, the black armored Sith killed Anakin before turning on her. She was in the middle of one of these nightmares when a sharp tapping sound woke her.

She looked around for the sound expecting to find an ewok, but she saw a large staff. Holding the staff was an elderly gentleman cloaked in a heavy black cloak that hid some of his wrinkled figures.

"Who are you?" Padmé asked the aged man.

"A humble traveler my dear, I stopped on this planet for a rest. I was wondering if you could get me something to drink?" The man replied in a raspy voice.

Padmé frowned slightly, "I'm sorry. I do not live here, so I don't know where anything is. I do not know where the creatures are that live her." Padmé glanced around for some sign of the ewoks, but they seemed to have disappeared. Then her frown dissolved as she thought about what the stranger had said and she asked, "You are a traveler? Do you have transport?"

The elderly man sat down and pulled out a shurra fruit and a knife. He began cutting the fruit into pieces as he spoke, "Yes milady, it is resting a few meters from here." He smiled as the woman continued to glance around for a sign of the ewoks. He had seen them depart earlier, leaving him uninterrupted in his task.

Padmé eyes widened in happiness as she said, "I need transport to Coruscant. I have been stranded here. Can you help me?"

The man smiled, stretching the wrinkles on his face, "Yes, milady. I was planning on going to Coruscant myself. You are welcome to join me."

Padmé smiled with elation, "Thank you so much."

"You are most welcome, milady. Would you like a piece of shurra fruit?" The man offered.

Padmé was not really hungry since she was anxious to return to Coruscant. However, she did not want to be rude to this man who was going to help her so she accepted the fruit. "Thank you, this is my favorite dessert," She stated before taking a bite of the fruit.

The cloaked man smiled evilly as he watched Padmé swallow. He could sense the potion taking its effects on her.

"Oh!" Padmé stated and held a hand out against one of the walls of the Ewok dwelling trying to steady herself. "I don't feel so good. I feel dizzy. I…I…" However, before she could finish she collapsed to the ground. Palpatine cackled as he watched his stepdaughter fall to the floor and called upon the Force once more asking who was the most powerful being in the galaxy. When he was shown images of himself, his cackles turned maniacal and he shouted, "Ultimate power!" Then with a swish of his cloak, he turned from Padmé's fallen form and returned to his ship.

* * *

Anakin sensed that something terrible had happened when he landed his starfighter next to a mysterious ship. As he climbed out of his cockpit he saw a dark figure approaching from the distance. He called upon the Force and could tell that this was the dark presence he had sensed earlier and quickly walked toward it.

The dark man was slightly surprised to see Anakin when the young Jedi stepped up to him, but he recovered as he said, "How may I help you sir?"

"Where is Padmé?" Anakin demanded, not falling for the wrinkled man's deception.

"Who?" Palpatine played dumb.

"Do not play with me, I am a Jedi. What have you done with her?"

"Nothing that you can fix, sir." Palpatine replied with a smile.

Anakin ignited his cerulean lightsaber in response and shouted, "What have you done with her!"

"Good Anakin, I can feel your anger. It gives you focus, makes you stronger. Give into your hate." The man replied as he discreetly pulled out his own lightsaber.

"How do you know who I am?" Anakin asked.

Palpatine put on a mock pitying voice as he replied, "It pains me that you do not recognize me, old friend." Then he ignited his ruby lightsaber and held it out ready for attack.

Realization dawned on Anakin as he replied, "Palpatine! You are a Sith Lord!"

"Yes, my friend." He replied with a cackle.

"What have you done with Padmé?" Anakin shouted once more.

Palpatine continued to cackle as he said, "You are too late. She is dead!"

"No!" Anakin screamed, a look of horror on his face.

Palpatine smiled at Anakin's response. "Yes, and your feeble skills cannot help her. If you want to bring her back, you must join me. Join the dark side, and gain the power to save her."

Tears fell from Anakin's eyes as he mourned the death of his love. "No, never!"

"It is your destiny." Palpatine stated as he tried to woo the young Jedi. The Force had told him he was the most powerful man in the galaxy. Anakin would join him or die.

"No!"

"So be it, Jedi." Palpatine replied in frustration and then ran to attack the young man.

Blue and red blades met in a flash of blinding light as Anakin deflected Palpatine's attack. Then the young man started his own series of attacks, violently swinging at his lover's murderer. Palpatine successfully deflected all of these blows, spinning and swinging his lightsaber with expert skill.

After fifteen minutes of fighting, the battle was a stalemate with neither Anakin nor Palpatine conceding. The two fighters moved deeper into the woods as they continued to attack each other. Above them, seven Ewoks who had come home to find that their houseguest was dead watched the ensuing battle.

"You cannot defeat me!" Palpatine growled as he blocked another attack. "I am the ultimate power in the galaxy." He then started another violent round of attacks against Anakin and backed the young Jedi into a large tree.

Palpatine smiled as he held his lightsaber to Anakin's throat and said, "Now young Skywalker you will… Ow!" A rock hit Palpatine's head before he could finish his sentence.

"Yub yub!" All the ewoks said in unison, and then threw more rocks at the Sith Lord.

The Sith Lord used the Force to deflect the falling rocks, but he was so distracted that he did not have time to deflect a blow from Anakin's lightsaber. Cheers from the ewoks sounded as Anakin sliced off the Sith Lord's head. However, Anakin paid them no mind as he ran through the woods in the direction that Palpatine had come, searching for Padmé. He silently prayed that what the Sith Lord had told him was a lie.


	7. Chapter 7

The ewoks followed Anakin back to their dwelling by swinging on vines and climbing the treetops. However, the young Jedi was faster on foot than them, and found his way to their dwelling first.

He found Padmé lying on the floor where Palpatine had left her. Anakin knelt down and cradled her in his arms while he softly whispered, "Padmé."

The ewoks looked on as the young Jedi began to weep as he rocked the woman in his arms. They could sense the man's sadness and left him alone to his grief.

"Padmé please, I love you," Anakin pleaded as he ran a hand through her hair and over her cold pale lips. He tried to find her Force presence, but felt nothing. Despair gripped him as the realization that his love was gone overtook him. "I love you," he cried as he pressed his lips to hers in a final farewell.

Anakin gasped and pulled back when a hand ran its fingers through his hair. His gaze locked onto Padmé's brown eyes. "How?" Anakin asked as he could suddenly feel her Force presence. Padmé did not answer him, but gently wiped away his tears before pulling him in for another kiss. She broke the kiss and said, "Oh Anakin, I was so worried about you."

She was smiling back at him as he whispered, "I thought I lost you." Then he pulled her to him in a series of searing kisses as if he was hungry for her lips. "I love you." He murmured between kisses.

"I know." She said with a coy smile as she wrapped her arms around him and deepened her kiss. Anakin then picked up Padmé into his arms and carried her to his starfighter.

Before entering his ship, Anakin turned towards the ewoks who were following them and thanked them for all of their help. Padmé blew them a kiss as well. The ewoks seemed pleased with this and cheerily waved the happy couple goodbye.

* * *

Anakin flew his starfighter to the beautiful Lake Country of Naboo. There he asked Padmé to marry him, which she readily agreed. The following day, surrounded by red Nubian roses, a holy man faced the young Jedi Knight and beautiful woman clad in an elegantly embroidered white gown as they pledged their undying love to one another.

There were no witnesses as the young couple sealed their vows with a kiss, but the stars seemed to twinkle in blessing of the union. With the destruction of the Sith Lord, Padmé was now free to have a life she could only dream about previously. As she continued to kiss her new husband, she smiled with the fact that she now lived in a galaxy void of evil, enveloped in peace, and surrounded by love.

* * *

The End. 


End file.
